The Germans from the
Dobrudja

Definition

The Dobrudja was a geographical region between the lower Danube and the Black Sea. It had been under Turkish
rule until 1878 when its northern part was given to Rumania; in 1913 the
southern part held by Bulgaria since 1878 also became part of Rumania. Today,
its northern part belongs to Rumania, the southern part to Bulgaria.

Settlement

German colonists—mostly from Bessarabia and Ukraine—began to settle in the area as early as
the 1840s while it was still part of the Ottoman Empire. Between 1873 and 1878
several more migrations took place. Some of the Germans who had emigrated to
Bessarabia continued their march southward. In 1842, some 6,000 immigrated into
Romania and founded Jakobstal near Braila. Some of them felt dissatisfied and
went to the Dobrogea, establishing themselves at Tulcea and Babadag and in the
district of Constanta. In 1878, together with the whole district, their
colonies went to Romania. [1]

When the Dobrudja came
to Romania in 1878, the Germans who had been left pretty much alone by the
previous Turkish authorities (except for the collection of taxes, of course),
now faced discrimination and bureaucratic difficulties. New immigrants from
Russia after 1890 were no longer able to acquire any land. By the mid-1880s,
hundreds of families emigrated to the Dakotas, and from there a sizeable number
continued their migration to western Canada. [2]

By 1913, thirty German
colonies were founded, and as late as the 1920s daughter colonies were still
being founded. The population was predominantly rural, but there were also some
Germans in Constanta on the Black Sea. Next to the Rumanians (40% of the
population in 1930) and the Bulgarians (25%), the Germans (1.5%) were one of
many other smaller ethnic groups. [3]

Following agreements
between the Reich and Rumania and Bulgaria in 1940/41, the approximately 16,000
Germans were resettled. About 6,000 colonists each were moved to the Reich Protectorate
Bohemia and Moravia and the Warthe-Gau. Like other recent arrivals, they fled
or were expelled in 1945. [4]

Settlement in
Western Canada

As early as 1885, a
surprisingly large emigration to western Canada took place from the German
villages in the Romanian Dobrudja. They were Baptists from the village of
Tulcea, who founded the colony of Neu-Tulcea in Saskatchewan which later became
Edenwold. Others came from Ciucurova, Cataloi and Caramurat and many smaller
villages.

In Saskatchewan, Germans
from the Dobrudja also settled in Balgonie, Josephstal, Kronau, Davin and
near St. Boswells, Kelstern, Morse, Blumenfeld and Bergfeld. Many of them had
to move again because of poor agricultural conditions in the dry areas of the
province. [5]